NY Daily News article- may contain spoilers

The next 'Survivor' features 18 contestants, two more than usual, including a model and a drill sergeant.

They have split up the men and women again on "Survivor."
And two more players have been added to the mix, according to the contestant list for "Survivor: Vanuatu - Islands of Fire."

The latest version of the adventure reality series was shot during the past couple of months in the Vanuatu group of 83 islands in the South Pacific.

This time around, producer Mark Burnett and his team have selected 18 players - up from the usual 16. The only other edition of "Survivor" to have 18 players was last season's "All-Stars," which was expanded to accommodate more past contestants.

As in previous editions, the contestants range in age, experience and physical ability.

The series' ninth edition will begin airing Sept. 16 at 8 p.m. with a two-hour premiere. There will be 14 fresh episodes, rather than the usual 13.

One player is from the metro area - Mia Galeotalanza from Toms River, N.J. - and one is from upstate - Eliza Orlins of Syracuse.

For the uninitiated, "Survivor" follows a group of people who are dropped in a remote location and forced to fend for themselves. In the past, one person was voted off every three days, though the frequency of tribal councils changed this outing. The last person standing gets $1 million - but they've usually lost weight from not eating well and picked up some odd diseases along the way.

"The coral was a problem," Probst said. "If you get a little bit of a cut, it infects easily. ... Then flies get in there and lay eggs and it sort of blows up."

Usually, the producers mix up the game each time out. In Panama, for instance, they dumped the players off in what they were wearing at the time, leaving one woman to fend for herself in a cocktail dress.

This time, too, they weren't given any food.

"The thing we've sort of accepted," Probst said, "is we probably never will give them food again. We've seen they can make it on their own, if they're forced. They're given a machette,and a pot to boil water in. There's plenty of food on the island."

This time, contestants were also divided into tribes along gender lines. It's the same format Burnett used for the start of "Survivor: The Amazon," though the teams become co-ed during the course of the game.

The early division on Vanuatu is a homage to the location, where the men rule and the women follow, Probst said.

Changes in the format, concept and challenges have been a hallmark of "Survivor." That's also helped make it one of the strongest reality series. Last season, "Survivor: All Stars" averaged more than 21 million viewers, and "Survivor: Pearl Islands" averaged just over 20 million.

two more contestants but one more episode than usual. I guess this means there is either a double elimination episode or they've got 5 contestants left for the finale, but I'm thinking more likely a double elimination, maybe on the very first episode.

two more contestants but one more episode than usual. I guess this means there is either a double elimination episode or they've got 5 contestants left for the finale, but I'm thinking more likely a double elimination, maybe on the very first episode.

"The thing we've sort of accepted," Probst said, "is we probably never will give them food again. We've seen they can make it on their own, if they're forced. They're given a machette,and a pot to boil water in. There's plenty of food on the island."

:rolleyes Yes, because the All Stars really had to fend for themselves. Case of rice, anyone?

"Look, you love me, and I love you. Maybe in a different time, a different place, this would work out. But we both know that only one of us is leaving this room alive, and I'm the one holding the flame thrower." - Film Fakers

The thing I don't like about the girls vs. the boys is how bitchy and disorganized the women get. It's so stereotypical and annoying that the women can't stop discussing things to death and getting their feelings hurt by someone long enough to pick a natural leader and form a plan. UGGGH. I really hope this group of women doesn't devolve into a high school flashback like the Amazon did.

Oh no not another battle of the sexes. They would've been better off with 5 men & 4 women and 4 men & 5 women.

A big fat :phhht to that. Can't MB be more original? People here at the FORT have come up with better ideas, one of them being starting them off in one big tribe that even he could have thought of that. Battle of the Sexes? What, did the same guy who discovered Amazon women also find the same thing in Vanuatu? The last thing I want to hear is a bunch of cocky men (and looking at this group, they will be a cocky bunch) brag about how they're never going to TC, blah, blah, blah. I'd hate to think if they actually do win the first challenge and go on a winning streak.

A big fat :phhht to that. Can't MB be more original? People here at the FORT have come up with better ideas, one of them being starting them off in one big tribe that even he could have thought of that. Battle of the Sexes? What, did the same guy who discovered Amazon women also find the same thing in Vanuatu? The last thing I want to hear is a bunch of cocky men (and looking at this group, they will be a cocky bunch) brag about how they're never going to TC, blah, blah, blah. I'd hate to think if they actually do win the first challenge and go on a winning streak.

I don't know if they will be quite the same...since in the Amazon the guys learned the hardway.